The sun., 1887-03-27

the tug business is 0verdone everywhere
sRos tos as sS hets sae deis Ss
itcannot always be ayoided. The usual time
have been thirteen days on the way. When
up at the various ports whatever barges y has
any tow. that offers The tugs are. thus kept
or es smpyees Ssns e sR s
charging and loading cargoes.
Within q, short time q Boston company, has
port from any of the s6ippiae ports along the
Ss,s /. S % asaW.h i
his friends towed four canal boats around Cane
God to Boston, Durirg the recen! coal h hand. pi.
barges loaded with nearly Q 1000 tons. of coal up
the beach from Newport News. Blt the g Boston tor
Te Sssss Sss an re s barIs %t
their topmasts and jib6ooms taken Of, and
fore. e.and.aft sails rigged on the lower
on outside. .barges Ike these in order to get in
hyep the 81 the
% M n tons II" fhe s best f eoa
are. OF course, REQUIRED on the outside bust
ocean trhmps and much more slightly With
long towlines, out-pcrhnps as much us 100
eSan n s eSsss S os sesp sqGd wsr so Te
quent along the ccast that gales arc not ofton
to bc rode out ut sea.
One set assert that barGcs must be built high
out OF water. SO that they Gan ride the waves
an ThSse Sat thu ty ssy
t. to build the barge with but little freeboard.
With arched deck and well ,battened matches
waves the winter pouring across them and run
ming on % Ss wntsr r9m ducks @ hack In SUN
e ere bpns o s or f' No nss FROM
breakers striking against the bows with re-
sounding noise and splash. Being built to
Tays Ms rspS pn4Sr Ter @ Ts'F wa1s ssy bsak
SSrb dssh % , Ss sahk hs caSs ssss nroayyh s S
as high barge. Whatever the merits of either
system, both ayeladvocatcs and both will be
set In their ways. As compared with smiling
vessels, any sort of barge hns the advantage Of
baFsxe ssar sho T sss men hs u
constantly employed while in the sailing ship
must lie idle willis the vessel is loaded and dis.
charged. The best proof, however. that barges
ss found the st ta the sans sesses have
besn driven from the. nearby coast trade on
the Sound and are losing their grip rapidly on
to Portland.
:, To tho ordinary spectator it seems as though
take their lives In their hands every time they
go down the Sound with the solid green water
sweeping across the decks. but men engaged
In the business say that less lives are lost In
proportion to cargo carried on barges thun in
sailiSG ships. The loss s. OF .pronerty Is also
Soas The Of hnyen m fs hsf
supply barge with each tow well provided
with pumps, ifeboats. and appliances for saw
Il In Il the M early days. days. when canal boats were
PaSss a fsoIis5. s S hoS 81 r slS # %srs
many n vessel has come to grief, they were
caught in 9 blow. and soon four Of them sank
slowly, called to tho men on the other boats to
NIP hapv am PUMP hoGnE to keep her aSnt @
and whom after two hours or so the Point hud
been rounded and smooth water reached, they
to pump. All bHt one went TO work with
renewed vigor. The odd one was told to tind
out how much water remained to be pumped
out. for she was not expected to make any
more now that smooth water was reached.
hole in tho dSck. and | !" the ut Utter T amasement It
OF all hands it dropped clear down out of sight
Investigation showed that the entire bottom Of
laboriously endoavoring to pump the whole
Atlantic Ocean up through one Erie canal boat
ns 5 i dlspp ns S dn 5n haS aea sa om The The
buoyancy Of the wood Of when it was made.
:, 1t is the boast Of Nr. Gladwishs old company
disappeared one night from barge anchored
In North River. Two deck hands on tug sky
!arkca on Point Judith one day md fell over
board, One sank out of sight and the other
was picked IN: Still disasters do happen. In
1889, In an awful gale on Christmas Eve, the
old barge Dunderberg, already mentioned, and
three other barges broke loose from their tug
off Saybrook. and We're lost with eight men.
The old ship Noses Grnncll, n famous packet
In her day. that had been cut down into coal
barge, while on her way from. Norfolk to New
York two years ago was caught In a gale and
the tug men cut her adriit twenty-five miles
southeast OF Sandy Hook. The brave old hulk.
woyhy Of q better fate; swung around into the
trough OF the sea, rolled over and with five
men on board sank out of sight forever.
1t ts common talk among barge owners that
the business has not yet by any means renched
flood tide. They say that while there has been
only an ordinary business profit In it for three
or four years, it is bound To grow until the en-
tire cOasting trade is done by tow barges They
point to tho great lakes, where steamers and
barges have utterly routed schooners. where
the trip. besides towing two barges that will
carry anywhere from 10000 to 100000 bushels
Of wheat each, and where from $500 to 5000
tons Of coal have been carried up the lakes in
one vessel No such cargOeS as these are Of
fered In the Atlantic coasting trnde. but, such
as they are, the barge owners say. they will all
fall In line behind the patient plodding tug.